


The Ocean Betrayed Him

by ReadytoBounce



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Confusion, First Meetings, Fluff, Henry Laurens' A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Mermaid!Alexander, Nicknames, Spying, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadytoBounce/pseuds/ReadytoBounce
Summary: Alexander Hamilton gets hit by a flow of debris and passes out. Suddenly, he wakes up with a stranger walking his way as he has been washed ashore.He has to try his best to get back into the ocean, because he’s heard the story’s of mermaids being killed by Humans.He doesn’t make it in time, and the human spots him.
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens
Comments: 14
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

Alex doesn’t remember what happened. One second he was swimming as he usually does, and the next he’s been hit by a flow of objects. It takes him a moment to realize he’s been hit, because he is so dizzy. He lets out a hiss of pain and tries to continue swimming.

“Oh shit” He mumbles, putting his hand on his head. His head is pounding. He needs to make it stop.

He tries to calm his racing heart, but it does the opposite. He starts freaking out even more. He can’t pass out, he doesn’t know where he is. He could be caught and murdered. 

He’s heard multiple story’s from his friends of other mermaids getting killed. He knows humans cannot be trusted. They’ve proved that themselves. He tries to think of something else, the current making him even dizzier. 

He has to get back to familiar ground. He try’s to swim but he goes in the wrong direction. He can barely see what’s in front of him, his eyes fogging up. Every time he moves he feels pain, so he’s stuck. 

He starts to feel himself slipping, and it’s the scariest thing he has ever experienced. His vision cuts off and his hearing goes to a light ringing. He doesn’t want to die. He wants to live. He has to live.

He tries one time to swim away, it might be the last time ever, but it doesn’t work.

His ocean is to be never trusted again.

*****

The moment he opens his eyes again, he knows he is in trouble. He is lying on the beach, out in the open. He doesn’t see anyone close by, which calms him a bit. The panic comes right back when he starts thinking about washed up mermaids fates. They never survive.

He can still make it back in the ocean. He just has to try really hard. His head is pounding, and his left arm is killing him, but he needs to try. This is a matter of life and death.

He starts to slowly crawl back to the ocean. He still sees no one, so he should be fine. Just then he gets a glimpse of what his arm looks like. It’s bruised and bleeding, and something is definitely wrong with it. 

“Fuck” Alex mutters.

While examining the damage, Alex hears a light humming. He looks to his right and notices someone walking towards him. They haven’t noticed him yet.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

That’s not good.

He frantically tries to move into hiding, since he won’t be able to get to the ocean in time. It doesn’t work, his arms and body keeps failing him.

Come on Alex, you can do this.

He tries again, only hurting himself even more. 

This is it. He’s going to die. Hopefully it’s quick. 

“Oh shit” the boy says. 

Alex starts moving quicker now, hoping he can reach the ocean and swim far, far away. He has learned his lesson about leaving his known territory. He will never leave it again. He is in so much pain.

“Shit, hey, hey it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Damn, what happened? You’re bleeding all over”

All over? What the fuck hit him? He must have been hit by debris. He needs to be more careful.

“Woah, calm down. It’s okay”

Calm down? Did he just say to calm down? That had the opposite effect. Alex starts flailing around on the beach.

“Yikes. Listen, I’m going to try and help you. My name is John. You could call me Jack if you’d like”

John moves closer to him, which causes Alex to try and move faster. He’s terrified. Maybe he could try to scare him off?

Alex tries to scratch at him with his good arm, but misses. He then tries baring his teeth at him, to which John just raises an eyebrow. What kind of human is this? 

“Huh, okay. That’s kinda cool. I know you are scared. I would be too, but please, let me help”

Obviously scaring him isn’t going to work. He crosses that one off the list. 

Alex will not believe what he is saying. He remembers all the story’s that have been told. They have been told to him since he was young. The lesson always being never trust humans. They are not to be trusted.

John moves closer and sets his backpack down on the floor. He pulls out a map and starts to quickly look around. Once satisfied, he puts the map away and directs his attention back at Alex.

“You’re hurt, and I want to help. Once I help, I’ll let you go. Promise”

Alex lets out a whimper, watching his every move. He has a feeling this human won’t leave him alone, and he hates that. He just wants to go back into the ocean. The ocean has never betrayed him like this before. 

“You have to believe me on this. I’m not going to keep you like some stuffed animal. I’m going to let you go after I help”

Alex feels like he should laugh at that, but he is so overwhelmed by panic he can’t.

He really hopes John stays true to his word. 

Suddenly, John moves quickly over to him and picks him up, letting out a huff. Alex starts squirming around like a toddler, but John just sighs. He doesn’t seem fazed, which confuses Alex. It’s not everyday you come across a hurt merman on the beach.

“I’m going to take you back to my house. I didn’t bring any of my medical stuff with me today, because I didn’t think I’d need it. I should start carrying it around, huh?”

Alex just stares at him, he doesn’t want to speak. That’s too risky. It’s bad enough he is being held by this human, and that he is taking him away from his home. His only protection is the ocean, he needs to be in it. 

It takes some time, but they are finally at Johns house. For the first time, Alex realizes he is shaking violently. He still has no clue what is happening, which makes him more nervous. 

John walks in and places Alex on something soft, then walks back to close his door. Alex didn’t hear a click, so he must have left it open. That’s good, he can escape.

It’s also good that they are alone. Alex is grateful John didn’t bring him back to his house just to show him off. That would be very awkward. He hears humans have a reputation for taking photos.

“Here’s what going down. I’m going to go upstairs and grab my medical supplies I need for work. I’m going to treat your wounds. I’m also going to check out that arm of yours” John explains, smiling at him.

After John leaves, Alex decides he’s had enough and tries to get out of there. He makes it to the edge of the bed, and he’s about to fall off when John comes back.

“Really?” John sighs. “Just let me help you”

John sits down on the bed next to him and gently pulls Alex towards him. He examines his wounds and makes a face. They must be pretty bad. Alex hates that look, and tries to move away.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Come back here, mister”

Alex will never trust him. He knows better. He’s smart.

John looks at him with the most genuine, caring smile he has ever seen. “Please, let me help”

Alex nods. He shouldn’t have, but he did. He knows they might get infected, and that wouldn’t be fun. That would cause more pain, and Alex is done with pain.

A part of Alex’s brain is telling him to trust John, that he seems genuine. But Alex will not listen. Trusting is very dangerous. Especially since he is not near his ocean.

John starts to treat his wounds, and Alex let’s him. He doesn’t move, knowing that would make it worse. He hisses with pain as John presses down really hard on a big cut.

“Sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m trying to help”

John presses down on the cut again, causing Alex to squirm away. 

“Shh, it’s okay. Just relax”

John pulls out a box of childish bandaids, and Alex looks up at him, causing John to laugh. It is such a strange thing for anyone to have.

“I know, I know. I work at a children’s hospital. They are needed”

Alex is staring to relax. John sounds like he does good things. But he did hit his head, so he probably isn’t thinking correctly.

John takes some bandages and wraps up his arm, being extremely gentle with him. Alex watches him closely, examining his process. John seems to know what he is doing. He notices John wrapping one of his fingers, which must mean he broke it. 

“Look, I’m planning on bringing you back to the ocean. But you look pretty fucked up right now. Your arm is in pretty bad condition, so I would prefer you stay here for some time while I can watch you”

As much as he wants to go back to his home, his protector, he needs to stay here. He doesn’t think he would be able to swim correctly if he went back. He would probably get washed up again and murdered. What is the chance there are two nice humans that find him?

“Do you want to go back?”

Alex really does. His whole life he has only known the ocean. And now he has been suddenly taken out of his home by a human. He’s not sure if it’s the best answer, but he shakes his head. 

“Good, that is a very smart idea, pretty boy”

Alex blushes at the nickname. He can feel his face going hot. He finds himself liking the nickname, and hoping that John calls him it more often. It sounds nice coming out of his mouth. 

“I’m not going to hurt you” John says, smiling.

Alex still doesn’t know about that, but he needs to trust him. Even if he tricks himself into it. Alex then moves his body to get comfortable on the bed. Just then he realizes how exhausted he really is. Who knew almost dying twice could make you tired?

John seems to sense his tiredness, and moves to get a blanket on the other side of the room in a bin. He walks back over to him and lays it on him. Alex watches him as he tucks him in as good as he can.

He hopes John isn’t going to try to do anything to him while he sleeps. He’s a little nervous to sleep, even though John seems like he has good intentions. It’s not his fault Alex is afraid of everything. 

“Well, I wasn’t expecting my day on the beach to go like this. This was very unexpected, but I’m happy I was there to help you”

Alex smiles warmly at him. He’s happy John was there too. Alex didn’t expect to live this long. It’s a miracle. 

“Oh, Also, don’t worry about your wounds. I should be able to get you all better soon. You will be okay. I promise”

For some odd, odd, reason. Alex trusts him when he says that. He has a gut feeling that what he said was true.

“Well, goodnight, pretty boy. Don’t try to escape. That would ruin all of my hard work”

He remembers the one story his father always told him about what happened to a merman who spoke to a human. It was a horrible story, but it had to be shared. It is told to keep all of his kind safe. 

Alex knows he shouldn’t. He has been told plenty of time’s what happens when his kind speak to humans. It’s extremely dangerous. It’s basically a death sentence.

But he does it anyway.

“Goodnight”

He doesn’t regret it.

Maybe everything will work out okay.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex woke up startled, not remembering where he was. It took him a minute to realize he was still in Johns bed. It seems John has left him with collected water from his ocean. That’s a relief. He didn’t want to die in Johns bed.

Considering he couldn’t get up on his own, he had to stay laying down until John woke up. He didn’t really know what to do, so he settled on just admiring Johns room.

It had many things that Alex had never heard off before. The room was very well decorated. Alex enjoyed the way he could look out the window and see the ocean. His ocean. His home. 

He would by lying if he said he didn’t want to go home. Sure, he was enjoying Johns company, but he misses his ocean. He is still angry at his home though, it betrayed him. It wasn’t supposed to do that. 

He heard movement so he assumed that John must be up. The door was left ajar, so he was able to see out of it. When the door started to creak open and John wasn’t there, he started to get freaked out. 

Suddenly, a strange animal appeared on the bed with him. He didn’t know what to do, since he was unaware of what the animal was.

He has to get away, it could attack him. He slowly started to move off the bed, being careful not to hurt himself even more. He had to be smart about this, since Johns bed was very high off the floor. He could get really hurt. 

The strange creature was coming closer, so he had to move fast. He was closed to falling off the bed, so he gave himself one more push and closed his eyes. 

He was waiting to hit the floor, when he realized he was being held by someone. John.

“What are you doing!?” John yelled in fear.

Alex curled in on himself. He didn’t want to make John mad, he just wanted to be safe. He doesn’t want to be in any more pain. The pain he is dealing with already is enough for him.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. You just scared me, I don’t want you to get hurt anymore”

Alex let out a breath he was holding. He was glad John was not mad at him. He needs to keep a good relationship with John, since he could easily kill or hurt him. John doesn’t strike Alex as the type to do that, though. He was kind enough to save his life. 

He doesn’t look at John, he can’t. He tries to keep his expression stoic. He feels embarrassed. John must think he is such an idiot.

It’s just then he realizes John is literally holding him like a baby, and starts to freak out. He starts squirming and move his arms to push off of him, wincing in pain when he uses his bad arm. 

John must notice the reaction, since he sets him down on the floor, looking at him with concern.

“Uhh. Are you okay? You were fine for a while, I don’t know why you just freaked out”

Alex is not going to explain to him why. He probably made a big mistake speaking last night, because John probably thinks they are on speaking terms. They are not. Alex will not speak anymore.

“That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I was just wondering” John claims, but Alex can hear the disappointment in his voice.

Alex finally looks up at him, he can tell John just woke up. His wavy blond hair is a mess, and he is still in his pyjamas. 

“Oh!? I didn’t even realize she got in here. I’m guessing she is what scared you?”

Alex gave a small nod. John must be fearless holding that thing. Is he crazy? Alex would not risk going near that thing. 

John moves to place the animal near Alex, but Alex is having none of it. He goes to try and put his bad arm down and John jumps into action.

“Woah! Don’t do that. I won’t place her near you. It’s okay”

Alex sighs. He really should listen to John. He seems smart. Alex still can’t trust him. John moves to sit on the floor next to Alex, getting onto his level.

“Would you like anything to eat? I went out and caught fish yesterday. You can have it”

Fish sounds really good. Alex didn’t register how hungry he was. Alex nods his consent again.

“Perfect! I’ll get it ready for you. Would you like me to bring you downstairs? I have a couch for you to lay on”

Yes, Alex would love that. He wants to get away from the crazy animal John has. He shrugs, mostly because he doesn’t want to be touched right now.

“Okay, I’m going to pick you up now. I promise I won’t hurt you”

That’s true. If John wanted to hurt him he would have done it while he was asleep. That would be his time to strike.

Alex closes his eyes while John wraps his arm around him. When he’s picked up, he places his head into Johns neck. For some reason, he feels safe in his arms. Alex shakes it off as a part of his head injury.

He can’t be trusting John. That’s not how it works. Humans are mean, dangerous, deadly. 

John sets him down on the couch, and the ugly animal stays upstairs. Good. Alex hates that thing. Even though he has no clue what it is. 

“Would you like to watch TV?” John asks, already picking up the remote to turn it on.

Alex has heard of a TV. He finds them fascinating. He has never seen one up close before, so this is very new to him.

John turns the TV on anyway, even though Alex didn’t give an answer. He turns on some show about fish, which Alex finds offensive. He doesn’t show his annoyance, since John didn’t know. He probably thought he would enjoy it.

Alex didn’t really pay attention to the show, he was more interested in John cooking. He was humming along to a song and moving his hips. Alex wonders if he is going to regret staring. 

He watches John pull out several fish and place them onto a plate. Just the sight of them made his mouth water. John must realize he’s staring because he gives a light laugh. 

“Hold your horses, I’m coming”

Hold his horses? What does that even mean? Alex guesses it’s some weird human phrase. Humans are so strange. The things they do makes Alex question their sanity. 

John comes back over to him a sets down the plate of food. John gives him a big smile, then walks back over to the kitchen to finish his food.

Alex’s mind wants to burst with all the questions he has. Why is John being so nice to him? Why is he giving him such nice things? It’s hard to work out which question he wants answered first. 

Once John finally finished making his food, he came at sat down right next to Alex. Alex can see how hard it is for John to just sit and not have a conversation. It’s still a comfortable silence.

Every now and then Alex catches John glancing down at his tail. Alex usually hates when people do that, but he finds himself liking it when John does. The only thing he won’t allow is John touching it. That crosses the line. He still can’t trust him.

“Umm. I know I’m interrupting the silence, but I really need to know. What is your name?”

When Alex just stares at him, he continues. 

“I mean, I’m content with calling you pretty boy, because, well, you are pretty, if I do say so myself. But I would like to know your name”

Alex flushes red at that. He’s never had anyone say such a thing to him. How do you react to someone saying that?

John is right though. He does deserve to know his name. He literally saved Alex’s life. It’s the least he could do. Alex is going to have to find a way to pay him back. 

Alex hopes that John will stop talking to him in a baby voice. He guesses he is doing it to ensure full understanding, but Alex hates it. 

“Alex” He whispers. 

“What? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you say it louder?”

“Alex” He repeats louder.

John gives a big smile. “Well, Alex. Thank you for trusting me with your name. I appreciate it”

Alex smiles slightly, then continues to eat. It’s not the best he’s had before, but it’s okay. He will still take anything he can get. He’s out of his territory, he doesn’t know how to feed himself out here. 

“Another thing....John trails off, as if he has something important to say, but isn’t sure how to say it.

Alex nods, signalling he is willing to answer.

“I’m curious about your tail”

This is exactly what he had been afraid of.

Alex has to consider his words carefully. He doesn’t know how to tell him that he doesn’t want to talk about his tail just yet. If he were to say that, it would sound horrible and rude. He has no clue how much the idea of mentioning it terrifies him.

When John kept staring at him, awaiting a response, it frightened him even more. He unleashed his claws and let out a soft growl. He needs to make it known he’s in charge, and he’s dangerous.

From that response, John speaks up again. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to invade on personal things. I just-“ John trails off again. Alex feels like a complete dick for making him feel like he has to apologize. 

“You don’t have to apologize” Alex forces out. He needs to learn how to stop being scared of speaking. He’s going to be staying with John a while. He is very delighted that John didn’t probe for specifics on why he didn’t want to talk about it. 

John looks up at him, with a look Alex can’t place. It looks like....he’s proud of him?

“Wow! I’m so proud! Thank you for speaking to me”

Alex flushes at that. No one in his life has ever been proud of him. Is this what it feels like to have someone proud of you?

Alex smiles at him. It’s a true smile. He is truly happy. 

“Anyways. I had some plans for today, but since you are staying with me, I don’t know what to do”

Alex can’t help but feel like a inconvenience, a burden, he can’t bring himself to speak anymore. John made it seem like his chores were his top priority, which made Alex feel very small. 

John doesn’t seem to notice the change in demeanour, he just keeps talking.

“I was thinking we could play a game? You probably never heard of any of them but I could teach you. It would be fun!”

Alex can’t say no to John. He seems so excited and it would kill Alex to take that away from him. He’s being so kind to him, he can help repay him by keeping him company. 

John stands up and pulls a box out of a draw. Alex can see that the game is called “candy land”, which confuses him. What could this game possibly mean?

John sits back down and pulls out the instructions. He starts to read them to Alex, and he is barely following along. He has no clue what half of the things in the box are. 

John demonstrates a move, and Alex follows along. John beams with pride as his apparent teaching skills, so Alex decides he has to give this his all. 

Even though he doesn’t know what the aim of the game is, he’s having a good time playing with John. He makes funny remarks which always have Alex laughing. 

Alex winds up winning the game, and he is sure that John let him win, but it’s a good feeling. He enjoyed playing. He hopes that during their time together they will play more games. 

At least he didn’t get stuck with a boring person. He hates being bored. Usually when he’s bored he likes to explore the ocean. But he can’t do that now.

Maybe being stuck with John won’t be that bad. He seems to respect boundaries, which works very well with Alex’s situation. Alex still doesn’t and won’t trust him. The story’s he has been told always ring in his ears. 

He hasn’t heard any tales about nice humans. Maybe he can bring back the first one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The water is used so that Alex can breath! He doesn’t have to have it with him at all times, considering his just needs to stay damp. :)


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Alex couldn’t help but long for his ocean. Sure, living with John wasn’t so bad, but he still wasn’t sure he could trust him. He could never predict the mans movements, he always did things out of the blue. 

Currently, he was sitting on the couch, watching another fish show John put on for him. Alex didn’t have the heart to say anything, after all, it’s the thought that counts. He rather have it playing than being alone with his thoughts.

With John running out to do a few errands, Alex was left all alone in his exquisite house. Which means John won’t be home for another thirty minutes, that’s enough time for him to escape. He also left him alone with the water he collected, so Alex could breath. 

He thinks it over quickly. Would it be worth escaping? He isn’t exactly healed yet, and he still feels a bit dazed. If he tries to escape he could hurt himself again, and that wouldn’t exactly be beneficial to him. 

But if he does escape, he can get back to his ocean. He turned his head and glimpsed outside. It’s dark, and no one is ever at the beach when it’s dark. He could easily slip out of Johns front door and pray he makes it. 

John wouldn’t care. John definitely is just putting up with him to be a good person. Alex gets it, he understands. Everyone in his life has left him, so he’s just waiting for the moment John tells him the truth. He’ll be ready for it.

Alex is about to drop off the couch, when he hears a ringing sound. He looks around and can’t find where the sound is coming from. Can it be a bomb? Could John have tricked him? John is such a strange human, he will never be able to figure him out. 

He was alarmed, John didn’t strike him as the type to do such a thing. Alex internally slaps himself. He was so stupid to believe a human could be nice.

He was so stupid. He was so stupid. He was so-

Wait.

Last time he checked his tail wasn’t supposed to be vibrating.

From that realization, Alex throws himself off the couch and finds himself on a pillow. That’s good, at least he didn’t hurt himself. John must have put those there. He probably expected him to fall off. 

He still can’t find the culprit of the noise. He curses how humans live. Why are their so many random objects? They don’t need this many things.

Suddenly, after shoving his good arm into the couch, he feels his fingers touch something. He wraps them around and pulls out a strange object. After examining it, he comes to the conclusion it must be a phone. He’s heard of them, but was never sure what the purpose of them is.

He guesses this is what a phone call is. He can see that the person calling is named “Father”. He can say next to the name is a strange face. It seems to be rolling its eyes. Huh. How interesting.

He wouldn’t dare answer the call, so he just let it continue ringing. When it finally came to an end, Alex watches five messages pop up on the screen, all of which weren’t very kind.

“Jack, if you don’t answer this phone right now, you won’t like what’s coming”

“Jack, answer the phone”

“John Laurens, answer my phone calls right now”

“John, I’m not messing around”

“Fine, be like that”

Alex had to rub his eyes and check the messages again. What was going on here? These messages are wicked. How could a father speak to his son like this? 

He must have missed John pulling up, because the sound of keys came as a surprise to him. He swiftly turned the phone off and set it down next to him. Even if he’s not a human, he knows snooping in someone’s phone is rude.

“Hey, pretty boy! I’m so glad I’m home. Those errands really kicked my ass. My feet are killing me”

Alex let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Thank goodness John is in a good mood.

Alex smiles softly at him, but doesn’t say anything. He needs to find a way to ask John to address the messages. 

“I found a store that is relatively new around here. They were selling seaweed, and I thought I should pick some up for you. I’m pretty sure you eat that stuff” John informs him. 

Alex smiles, showing his sharp teeth. He can’t believe John went out of his way and did that for him. He spent his own money on him, and Alex knows how important money is. How on earth is he going to repay him?

“Hey, you okay?”

Alex nods in agreement. He needs to be less expressive. His expressions are going to get him into trouble one day. He’s always been told that.

“Alright. I hope you aren’t lying to me. Don’t feel like you need to lie, you’re safe here, Alex. I won’t let anything happen to you”

Alex smiles, a little less genuine this time. He wishes John would stop saying stuff like that. By him saying that, it makes Alex grow more suspicious of him. 

Alex watches John walk into the kitchen to start unpacking the groceries. Alex admires all the peculiar items. What in the world is a ‘pizza’?

Alex figures not helping is rude, so he tries his best to scoot over to the kitchen. He didn’t get far, as John immediately stops him.

“Woah! What are you doing? You should get back onto the couch. It’s not safe for you to be moving around. I’ll fetch some more ocean water for you aswell”

Alex rolls his eyes. He would have made it there perfectly fine. He’s getting the feeling that John is a very overprotective person. He hates those type of people, they overreact for no reason. 

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I just want you to be safe” John apologized, speaking in a tone that is normally used with babies. 

Alex narrows his eyes. He’s not a baby. He doesn’t need to be cooed at and swaddled. He’s well and grown. He’s more than capable of handling himself. 

“Alex?”

Alex turns away from him. He’s not in the mood to interact. Obviously John isn’t very smart, because you don’t talk to someone who is grown like that. It’s very ‘dehumanizing’.

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone. I’m sorry that I upset you. It wasn’t my intention” John steps back into the kitchen, going out of Alex’s view. 

Alex looks down. He didn’t mean to make John this upset. He just hates when people do that. Since he is relatively small for a merman, many of his peers would pick on him for it. It doesn’t bring back pleasant memories. 

He will admit he was a bit harsh, John was only trying to help. He just needs to work on his interacting skills. That’s all. 

The unpleasant noise of ringing reappears, and John doesn’t seem to notice it. When Alex sneakily takes a glance, he can see it’s Johns father again. It seems like John doesn’t get a break from this man. 

Alex sighs, then takes a big leap off the metaphorical cliff. 

“Phone” He said loudly, making sure John could hear him from the other room.

Alex observes John walking back into the living room. “What?”

“Phone” Alex whispers.

“Phone? My phone is ringing?”

Alex nods in agreement. He hates talking. Many people have told him he talks to much. He would hate to annoy John with his voice. 

“Oh? Well, do you have it?”

Alex nods again, picking up the phone and lifting it up to present it to him. 

“Oh, good. Does it say who it is? Just look at the top and read the name to me”

“Father” Alex answers. 

From his answer, Johns whole demeanour changes. His once confident stance changes into something more frightened. His eyes that were previously happy took on a surprised look. 

John rushes over to him and snatches the phone out of his hand. Alex’s eyes follow him as he swipes and holds the phone up to his ear. His eyes trail down. This can’t be good. John is angry at him now.

When he looks back up, he can see that John has stepped outside. Now Alex doesn’t know a whole lot about humans, but he does know what certain body language means. Johns whole body is screaming scared. 

After a while, John returns back into the house. No words are exchanged between them, which makes Alex even more nervous. What happened that normal chatty John has gone quiet? 

Alex finds himself wanting to get to the bottom of the situation. He doesn’t know why he cares, maybe it’s because John saved him and he only deserves happiness. That’s probably it.

Some part of his brain is telling him this is a perfect time to escape. The back door is open, Johns guard is down since he is listening to music. Everything is set in place for him to make a move.

Should he?

He does miss his ocean.

He could be back there by tonight.

Would he dare?

One look over at John confirms his answer.

He won’t.

He can’t. He just can’t. Something is telling him he needs to stay, at least for the rest of the night. 

While Johns guard is down, he uses things around him to help him get to the kitchen. It’s not exactly easy having a tail in a world made for people with legs. It’s not fun. 

He tries his best to not make any noise. His whole body hurts, and he knows after this John is going to have to wrap him up again, but it’s going to be worth it. 

He manages to make it into a chair, and hoists his tail up onto another. He uses his good arm to drag the broad game he has hidden up to the table. He uses his memory to set the game up. Now all he has to do is wait. 

It takes some time, but John eventually turns around. He looks shocked when he takes the headphones out of his ears. Alex can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing.

“What!? How did you manage? Did you- How did-“

Alex couldn’t help but giggle a bit at that. Seeing John speechless was hilarious.

“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh. I’m just so perplexed on how you got up here. Please tell me you got in here safely”

Alex nods.

“Oh good. I wouldn’t want you to be in here because many things could harm you. I’m just glad you have your water so you don’t stop breathing on me”

Alex frowns at that. Was this the wrong thing to do?

“I’m not angry!” John must catch his change in demeanour. He’s becoming quick. He’s getting better at understanding his non-verbal cues. “I’m actually quite happy. I will gladly accept your nonverbal invitation to play with you”

John sits down and makes the first move. Alex wonders if playing this game is going to become a regular activity. Alex enjoys it, as the board between them serves as a perfect buffer that allows them to connect without Alex talking. 

Alex still isn’t the best at playing the game. He would like John to explain it to him better, but he hasn’t pursed asking him yet.

Alex winds up winning again, this time he is sure John let him win. Alex could easily tell. It was obvious. It was still enjoyable.

“That was fun! I can’t believe you keep winning. I’m usually the best at candy land. Sometimes I play it with the children at the hospital. It’s an all around favorite”

Alex smiles. It’s sweet he takes time to make the kids smile.

“Anyways, enough about me. What about you, are you hungry yet?”

He actually is, now that he’s mentioned it. That seaweed he mentioned earlier sounds really good right about now. Some fish also sounds delicious. Alex nods.

“Alrighty then! I’ll get started on dinner”

*****

Later that night, John placed Alex back onto the couch and turned on a show. Alex had no clue what it was, but he didn’t want to be rude so he watched it. It’s better than watching fish swim around. 

When John joined him on the couch, Alex was surprised at how much space he was giving him. Not that he was complaining, he likes his personal space. 

“Are you enjoying it so far?” John asks joyfully.

Besides the fact he has no clue what’s going on, and most of the stuff in the movie makes no sense, it seems interesting. 

“Yeah”

“That’s great! I thought you would like it. It seems your style. Even though you probably are a bit confused. I know they don’t have television in the ocean”

Alex wishes they did. He could watch this if he got bored. 

During the show, a scene comes on where Alex notices the character has the same animal that John has. The character on screen refers to it as a “cat”. What is with humans and weird named things?

Alex does not like “cat”, as he did not have a good experience with Johns. Alex will stick with hanging out with the fish.

While Johns attention was on the show, he decided to watch him. Alex could admit, he was beautiful for a human. Alex didn’t go near the surface very much, but the humans he did see were ugly. 

He stayed like that, watching him for a while, until he felt something against his tail. It would seem that John unknowingly had his foot on his tail. 

Alex quickly bared his teeth and unsheathed his claws. He needed to be ready in case John was going to try to harm him.

“Oh, fuck. I’m so sorry. I just keep messing up today, huh?”

Alex sighs. He hates making people feel bad for minimal things. Even though it wasn’t so minimal in his eyes. 

“You’re forgiven” 

John smiles, showing off his perfect teeth. “I’m glad I am. I truly don’t mean to keep messing with your tail”

Alex rolls his eyes. He doesn’t exactly believe that.

When John laughs at him, Alex can’t help but smile. Even if he decides to escape, he’ll be forever grateful he got to experience meeting a human. Not just any human, John.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry is such a stinky man, am I right!?
> 
> The phone call will be more relevant as new chapters come along. The angst will be slowly coming back y’all. :) 
> 
> If you’re wondering why John keeps putting on television shows for Alex, it’s because he thinks he’s enjoying them. Alex just goes along with it because he feels bad.
> 
> I hope y’all enjoy this new update! Sorry updates have been so slow, school is overwhelming! The next chapter should be up in a couple of days!


	4. Chapter 4

It was another day locked up in John’s house. He was honestly starting to get a little bored, as John was starting to get back on track with his work, which meant less attention for him.

He wasn’t that upset John was busy, but he was pretty upset. John doesn’t know what it’s like to be stuck in one place. Alex can’t even move around by himself without John scolding him.

Alex appreciates the shows John puts on for him, but he can’t understand them. He will never understand why humans have so many words. 

Today, John was working from home. He had some research to do and was given a day off. Alex is glad he didn’t leave, as he would hate to be left alone. 

Slowly but surely, Alex can figure John out. He genuinely thinks John is kind, good and loving. But... Alex’s mind has always played tricks on him. Ever since he was small he would trust people way too easily. It would never end well. 

Staying in John’s house is starting to get better. John has finally figured out how to catch him the right fish, which is a miracle. He didn’t expect much, and as long as he wasn’t an asshole he had nothing to worry about. 

Alex still didn’t trust him all the way, not yet. He was slowly getting there. He finds himself doing certain things that he wouldn’t have done in the beginning. 

As he lamely sits on the couch, he can hear the sound of John’s keyboard clicking away. He glances at the clock, reading the red print stating two-thirty. He’ll get some attention soon, it’s time for John to change his bandages.

John strolls onto the living room holding his supplies kit. It seems to be overflowing, which means it’s going to take some time to secure everything. Perfect, more attention to him.

“Okay, pretty boy. You know what time it is” John announced, bending down to sit in front of Alex.

Alex slightly smiles. He’s excited about the attention, but he still isn’t the biggest fan of skin to skin contact. John tends to touch his wounds for a while, which is never usually fun. 

“I’m going to start with taking a quick look at your arm. The last time I checked it seemed to be stable, hopefully, it didn’t get worse”

John gently takes off the bandage already on his arm and makes a disapproving face. Alex hates when he does that, it makes him feel like a failure. 

“Alex, have you been moving around more? I told you to stay in one place. Your arm is getting worse” John informs, shaking his head disapprovingly.

Honestly, he has. John struggles with comprehending the fact that staying in one spot all day is fucking boring. Maybe if he paid more attention to him this wouldn’t have happened.

When Alex looks back up, he notices John is looking for an answer. He shrugs, knowing if he said yes he would get a lecture. 

“Alex, do I need to check in on you every five minutes to make sure you are being good? Doesn’t this hurt?”

It does, and he knows that. But it’s much better than staring at the wall for hours. He used to go all day swimming around. This new drastic change does not sit well with him.

He doesn’t respond. John is just here to wrap him up. As soon as he gets better, John is going to dump him back off into the ocean. 

“Okay, Alex. I’m going to wrap your arm now”

Alex watches as John carefully wraps the bandage around him. Every so often, John will look up at him, making sure it’s okay to continue. He always nods in agreement, as the asking makes him feel safe. 

It takes a while before John finally finishes, but he gets it done. “There. That was the last one for today” John states, smiling up at him.

Alex smiles back. He always enjoys their conversations. John constantly has intriguing things to say. He doesn’t understand most of them, but it’s interesting to learn about how humans live. When he gets back to the ocean, he’s going to have a lot of stories to tell.

“So,” John says, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You hungry?”

Alex hums in agreement. “Perfect. I’ll start putting it together”

It’s strange to have someone catching and making your food for you. In the ocean, you control if you eat that day. Nobody else catches your fish for you. It just doesn’t work like that. 

John does do a pretty good job at it. He usually prepares it with a bunch of random machines, and it tastes much better than normal. 

John makes his way back into the living room and sits down next to him. Alex observes how he chooses the spot farthest from his tail. How interesting.

“The food is warming up, and I wanted to come to talk to you in the meantime. I know I haven’t been giving you a lot of attention, so let’s talk” John blurts out. 

Alex smiles at him. John immediately smiles back.

“So, how do you like living here with me? I’m sure it’s not the best, and you would much rather be at home, but what are your thoughts?”

The question comes as a surprise, and it takes him a second to think it through. What are his thoughts? He’s thankful he’s still alive, living here saved his life. Sure, it’s a bit uncomfortable at times, but it’s manageable.

“Good”

Alex watches John beam at him. “Really? That’s good. I am trying my best to make sure I don’t fuck everything up”

Alex giggles at that. John’s been so good to him. Sadly, he feels like he hasn’t.

“You are good”

John, once again, beams at him. “I’m glad. I’m really glad. Honestly, I don’t have many people around, so I’m happy I’m doing good”

Is John not having many people around? It seems impossible. If Alex were to make his mind one of human, he wouldn’t be able to find a flaw in John. How does he not have lines of people out the door wanting to be his friend?

Alex gives him a look, to which John just sighs. “Yeah. I don’t see my family very often. I don’t have a lot of friends. I don’t have time for many friendships”

Alex frowns at him. What a miserable life he must have. Back at the ocean, Alex made sure to make many friends, they kept his life interesting. It was always a pleasure to have people go on a swim with you. 

How is John okay with living his life like that? Alex sighs, humans can be so confusing.

A strange noise comes from one of the machines, probably signalling it’s done doing its job. John gets up and pulls the food out of it.

John walks back over to him and places the food down. “Here, it’s all done!”

Alex immediately starts eating. Back in the ocean, he was able to control the times he ate. If he was hungry, he would go find something to eat. Now, he just waits until John is ready. It seems rude to ask for anything else when John saved his life. 

When Alex looks back up, he finds that John is staring at him. Right, humans aren’t used to the way Alex’s kind eats when extremely hungry. How the fuck is he going to explain this to John? 

Alex blushes and puts the second fish down. It’s bad enough John had to see him eat one, he won’t put him through that torture again. 

John seems to notice, as his hand runs through Alex’s hair. “Don’t worry, you can continue eating. That was rude of me to stare, I’m sorry”

Alex has no idea why he’s apologizing. He’s not the one who is making a mess in someone else’s home. 

It takes Alex a second to realize the hand in his hair, as his entire body goes rigid. Throughout his whole stay with John, the only touching that has occurred was when John changed his bandages. He has never just touched him to touch him. 

He doesn’t know how to react. Does he lean into the touch? Or does he squirm and move away? Surely John must be worthy of a small bit of trust, right?

His body language must give some clues away, as John’s hand rips back into his lap. “Anyways, you can continue eating. I’m going to go call some of my friends”

For some reason, that comment makes Alex feel paralyzed. Of course, he knows that friends are a normal thing that comes with life. He’s not stupid. It’s just that John having friends doesn’t sit well with him. 

What if John tells them about him? Now that he thinks about it, John has been strangely calm about having a merman in his house. He hasn’t met any other humans, but wouldn’t there be some more panic? 

He sits himself up, trying to eavesdrop on John’s conversation. John could be telling his friends all about him right now. He needs to know if he is, so he can make a move and escape. 

He figures out how to turn the television off, and moves to the part of the couch closer to where John is. 

“Yeah, he doesn’t do much. He sort of just sits around all day”

“The amount of water I’m going through is crazy!”

Alex can’t believe what he just heard. Is John doing what he thinks he’s doing?

He needs to get out. If John is telling his friends, then he won’t be safe anymore. He needs to get out, or at least hide.

He briefly remembers John saying something about how he never goes into his hallway closet. Perfect spot to hide, if he can get there. 

With a thud, he falls onto the floor. The process of slowly crawling to the closest must begin. 

It seems like it takes an hour for him to move an inch. He needs to hurry.

Hurry.

Hurry.

Hur-

“Alex!? What are you doing!?”

Alex turns his head to meet an angry John’s eyes. Uh oh, he fucked up. 

“Alex, how many times have I told you to not move around like this!” John spits, the anger clear in his eyes.

Alex doesn’t know how to react. He’s never seen John angry. It’s all too much. His head is starting to pound. He can’t breathe. 

He slides a hand down to his tail, feeling that it isn’t at all damp, it’s dry. He’s going to die. He can’t breathe.

He can’t-

He-

Suddenly, he feels hands all over him. He’s being moved from the floor back onto the couch. He’s deposited into a warm blanket. He hears faint mumbling, but he can’t care to listen closer.

In an act of disobedience, he lets his eyes close...

“Alex, please wake up. I just want to make sure you are okay”

“I’m fine” He groans. Hoping to be left alone to sleep a little longer. 

“I’m not so sure about that, pretty boy. I’m just glad you are breathing okay now”

“Mhm,” He mumbles. 

“Alright, I can see you don’t want to talk. I’ll let you sleep some more”

He tries to lay his head back down onto the pillow and sleep, but a phone ringing prevents him from doing just that. His head starts to throb in pain from the sudden noise. He tried to act fine, as it would offend to suggest that John was bothering him.

He feels his face become wet, and for a second he thinks he’s back in the ocean. Back at his home. But he is quick to realize he is crying. Crying because he wants to be in the calm of his ocean. Crying because he’s in so much pain. 

The last thing he remembers is a gentle voice hushing him back to sleep...

When he wakes up, he finds that he is no longer on the couch, and is back on John’s bed. He turns his head and finds John in the bed with him, reading a book.

“John?”

John turns his head and smiles at him.

“Hi, Alex. How are you feeling? Any better?”

“Still hurts, but it’s better,” Alex says, surprised at himself for speaking a full sentence.

“Yeah, I thought so. You were up for most of the night. I’m not sure you remember it though”

Most of the night? “Time?”

“It’s about five in the morning. Go back to sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow”

When he turns his head up, he winces at the full throb the movement brings to his head. It seems that John was telling the truth, it’s still dark outside. 

John smiles at him. “I’m really glad you spoke to me. If you didn’t, I probably would be freaking out right now”

That almost sounds like John cares about him, which is strange.

“I would give you some medicine, but I don’t know if you can take that. I am going to bring you some human food that helps with head pain”

Human food? Can he even eat that? Oh well, if he dies it won’t be the worst thing. At least it will get rid of the leftover headache he has.

John comes back holding some odd-shaped food and places it next to him. Yeah right, he is not going to even touch those. It probably is cursed. 

John must guess what he’s thinking by his facial expressions. “At least try to eat one. Don’t die, okay?”

Alex nods in agreement, though he isn’t going to eat any.

“I’m sorry for what I put you through,” Alex says quickly. It’s the last thing he’s going to say for a while, and he knows it.

“No, I should be apologizing to you. I need to take better care of you. I’m sorry you had to go through what you went through. Let’s save the rest of this discussion for tomorrow”

John moves the blankets up to his chin and smiles fondly down at him. “Goodnight, Alex. I care about you. Remember that”

Alex waits till John is out of the room to sigh. Who knows if John is telling the truth. All he needs to do is be respectful and survive. 

When he thinks back to earlier, he remembers strange memories of warmth and being tenderly cared for. 

He hates to admit it, but maybe John could be telling the truth. 

If it’s a lie, then it’s such a perfect one that Alex is willing to let it stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment telling me your thoughts!! I hope you all enjoyed!! :)


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